Mom’s lilacs

One summer day, young in my family’s residence here on this hilltop, my first and eldest brother-in-law stopped by with a cardboard box.

“Iris, I brought you some lilac saplings from your mother’s gardens,” Ron said.

I carried the box into the garage, glad to see Ron’s gifts survived his trip from Kentucky. Yet, I doubted my untried green thumb possessed the power to grow the seven twigs into blooming bushes.

“They’ll need some water until you plant them, and I wouldn’t wait too long,” Ron said.

Glad for his advice, I envisioned Mom’s gardens lush with various varieties of roses and lilacs and watered the saplings’ soil.

Watched the thirsty roots drink.

Then I studied the lay of the land, the perfect place for Mom’s lilacs to grow.

Along the eastern lot line on the crest of the hill in the backyard seemed the ideal location. Full sun. Good soil drainage. Room to grow.

When mature, the bonus would be a blooming privacy hedge.

Yes, new to the area, I’d noticed during lilac blooming season the bushy, purple blooms along our country roads.

Absolutely loverly.

So, I planted Mom’s lilac saplings with plenty of space between, and hoped for tall, fragrant shrubs with dense, blooming branches in my own backyard.

Year by year they grew. I weeded, fertilized, watered in droughts, and mulched.

And glory be! They bloomed luscious purple clusters.

When I called Mom with my first bloom report, she couldn’t explain how one shrub bloomed white flowers.

Following her example, I cut bouquets when the buds burst into bloom, heavy and fragrant, and filled vases throughout the house

Naturally, Mom’s lilacs bloomed before mine. This offered her earlier lilac report, and my latter.

These reports concluded when Mom sold her Kentucky home and moved, first to Florida, then, eventually to Michigan.

In her sunset years, my brother-in-law Ron and my sister Linda, and my late husband Mel and I, shared Mom’s care.

Her few summers with us, we would sit in our backyard patio near the lilac hedge when it bloomed.

Dear Reader, I am ever grateful for Ron’s thoughtful gesture to beautify this barren hill. As these neglected heirlooms haven’t bloomed the past two summers, come Spring I aim to remove many saplings and all the lily of the valley from their bed.

I’ll feed their roots a diet of fertilizer and mulch.

Watch for blooms again.

Contact Iris at irisfarmletters@gmail.com